Latest news with #Springboks-laden
Irish Daily Mirror
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Munster v Sharks: Reds must shut out the Shark Tank vibes to keep season alive
Munster must be all business and forget the party going on around them in the Shark Tank. That's the message from Reds interim boss Ian Costello, who has named an unchanged side for the third game in a row as the province take on the Springboks-laden Sharks in Durban (5.30pm Irish time). 'There's a bit of a party atmosphere is the best way to describe it," he said of what Munster can expect at high altitude in Kings Park. "They're saying it's going to be a sell-out, they'll have people jumping into pools, they have lots of music. It's cool, there's a really good vibe and a really good energy there and I'm sure that fuels the home team. "So we need to channel that and use it in our own way, but there's a lot of distractions there, a lot of noise, a lot of things that can take you off task. "A lot of the chat will be making sure that we're on task, that we're calm and composed all the time - that maybe we don't buy into the atmosphere there.' Jack Crowley has been passed fit after suffering a rib injury in the vital final regular season victory over Benetton, while Rory Scannell is on the bench and primed for his 200th appearance for the province. The Reds' loss to the Sharks at the same venue ended Graham Rowntree's reign but Munster have produced good results in South Africa. "I wouldn't say there's a secret sauce but there are always elements that you tweak and you dial up or down for games like this," Costello said. "We certainly have a formula that we might add in or take out for any particular game and we have some that are specific to playing in South Africa based on conditions - whether it's altitude, whether it's hot, whether it's greasy and against specific teams like the Sharks. 'We have had a good record here and the last couple of weeks have been really good for us to deliver under pressure. It's no different this week, we need to deliver under pressure." Munster: Thaakir Abrahams, Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (captain), Peter O'Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes. Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Tom Ahern, Alex Kendellen, Conor Murray, Rory Scannell, Mike Haley.
Extra.ie
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Munster need a repeat of their 2023 heroics to land another URC title… but this team thrives in foreign lands
Munster are on the road again. The squad boarded a flight to South Africa yesterday ahead of a seismic URC quarter-final with a Springboks-laden Sharks side in Durban on Saturday. That part of the world doesn't hold particularly fond memories for this playing group. Kings Park was the scene of a 41-24 hammering at the hands of the rampant hosts in October, a fitting end to a miserable two-week tour of South Africa. Munster weren't in a great place then. Graham Rowntree would part ways with the club a few days after the chartered flight had landed back on Irish soil. This turbulent campaign has never really settled down. Graham Rowntree. Pic: Shaun Roy/Sportsfile There have been some high points, including the stirring Champions Cup last-16 win at La Rochelle, but they have been maddeningly inconsistent. The fact that Munster needed a win against Treviso in the final round of the competition last weekend to secure a last-ditch place in the play-offs says everything about the stuttering nature of their performances. But they got the job done. And they head for the URC play-offs with some precious commodities at this time of year: confidence and momentum. Munster are far from world beaters, and the standard of Saturday's Champions Cup final in Cardiff looked a few levels above anything this current squad could deliver. Saying that, Ian Costello's crew have the ability, confidence and muscle memory to go deep in this competition again. They will draw immense belief from what transpired two seasons ago. It was a familiar scene. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie Rowntree, having succeeded Johann van Graan, was overseeing his first term in charge. Mike Prendergast had arrived from Racing 92 to overhaul an attack which had become blunt and predictable. Denis Leamy was lured down from Leinster to bring some steel to the defence. Suffice it to say, there were teething problems early on. Munster lost five of their seven URC outings, and words such as 'crisis' began to do the rounds. Many observers predicted that they would struggle to make the top eight. This wasn't dramatics. Munster were in a big hole at the time. Slowly, but surely, Rowntree's troops began to find their groove. Thanks to a few gutsy performances on South African soil, they snuck into the play–offs and were greeted with a fiendishly difficult route to the final. If Munster were going to land a first title since 2011, they were going to have to do it the hard way. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile What happened next was positively startling. Glasgow were beaten at Scotstoun. Leinster awaited in the semi-final at Aviva Stadium. Leo Cullen, keeping one eye on a looming Champions Cup final against La Rochelle, kept a host of frontliners on ice. Munster didn't need a second invitation to pounce on the vulnerable visitors, with Jack Crowley's late drop goal sealing their place in the final. A video of the Stormers celebrating that result would soon go viral, with one player infamously screaming 'We are gonna f*** them up' at the camera. Munster rolled into Cape Town and duly landed the title. Three daunting away assignments. Three wins. Jack Crowley. Pic: Grant Pitcher/Sportsfile Just to emphasise the enormity of this achievement, it was the first time that all three teams had lost a home game that season. 'There is no other team that has done this, six games away from home. And no one will ever do it again,' Rowntree reflected after that stunning win at DHL Stadium. 'But we will find a hard way to do it next time!' Munster has a pedigree in this competition, so make no mistake about it. They believe they can go on another run and secure a second title in three seasons. This team hasn't been shy on the subject either. Gavin Coombes made this squad's ambitions very clear a few weeks ago. 'We are still going to challenge for the title if we can,' the Munster No. 8 declared recently. 'When we won it, we came fifth and we went away every game, so why can't we do that again? 'When we have been on it this season, we have had some great days and great performances. There is a lot of belief in this group that we have the talent to challenge for the league, so that's definitely what we are speaking about.' They have thrived on the road. It's ironic, really, given this team's rich history at Thomond Park. You could even argue that this current squad are delivering their biggest displays away from their Limerick fortjack ress. Yes, the Sharks will be laden with Test match quality. Their front five, featuring Springbok regulars such as Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch and Eben Etzebeth, will be sizing up Munster's creaky scrum, while Siya Kolisi, Andre Esterhuizen and Makazole Mapimpi will punch holes all day. But Munster will still feel quietly confident they can spring an upset in Durban. Just like in 2023, they have found form at the right time. This group has been through the mill, losing a head coach midway through the campaign, and has come out the other side. They have the added motivation of ensuring that Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer won't be playing their last games in the red jersey this weekend. O'Mahony has looked reborn in recent weeks, and the veteran flanker is leading a young pack from the front, while Craig Casey and Crowley have been in sublime form. And Munster know they have a backline which can trouble any team in this league, with Alex Nankivell, Tom Farrell, Calvin Nash, and Thaakir Abrahams thriving. They will attack this week with vigour—another big task in enemy territory. Munster will relish it.
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
In-form Edinburgh relishing Sharks test
Sean Everitt insists Edinburgh are "relishing this opportunity" to see off Springboks-laden Sharks in Friday night's URC showdown and continue their recent capital side are eyeing a South African hat-trick after defeating Lions and Bulls this month on their run to the Challenge Cup last faced Sharks a year ago, losing 36-30 in the Challenge Cup quarer-finals in Durban, but head into Friday's game in fine fettle after four wins in their past five outings in all competitions."Obviously we take a lot of confidence and momentum into the game," head coach Everitt said."We know the Sharks present similar challenges to what the Bulls do. The Bulls brought on five Springboks in the second half and it made a difference to their performance."The Sharks will be no different. They'll start with probably a dozen Springboks in their ranks. But at the same time, we've done well against the Sharks when we were away in the quarter-final last year in the EPCR, so we also take confidence out of that performance when there were a lot of the Springboks playing as well."We've also got our own group of internationals and we're playing at home, so we're relishing this opportunity. Our rugby performances have improved and with that you obviously get results."Everitt has rested Scotland wing Darcy Graham and Hamish Watson amid five changes for Friday's Pierre Schoeman and D'arcy Rae both start, Ali Price and Harry Paterson feature in the backs and Ben Muncaster comes in at openside are eighth in the URC and one of several clubs scrambling to secure their spot in the play-offs."We've got some tough games on the road as well coming up, so it is challenging," Everitt added. "The league is really tight, so every point matters at this stage."Edinburgh: Goosen, Paterson, Currie, Lang , McCann, Thompson, Price; Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Skinner, Gilchrist, Ritchie, Muncaster, Cherry, Venter, Williams, Young, Douglas, Shiel, Scott, Tuipulotu.
